US Arab population doubles in 20 years

The Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled in the past 20 years, according to the census bureau's first report on the group.

The bureau counted nearly 1.2 million Arabs in the US in 2000, compared with 860,000 in 1990 and 610,000 in 1980. About 60% of them trace their ancestry to three countries: Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

It attributed the rise to a relaxing of immigration laws and unrest in the Middle East. The census report stops at 2000, so there is no data to measure the impact of September 11, but tighter immigration procedures imposed since then have reduced the flow of Arabs to the US. Almost half of the Arabs live in California, New York, Michigan, New Jersey and Florida.

"It would be better to come to America than Europe or Canada," said Zak Trad, 33, of Anaheim, California, who came from Lebanon three years ago. "It's the largest Arab community not in an Arab country. I didn't think I would be a stranger here."

The Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, where many Arabs first settled to work in the automobile industry, was next at 29,181. Schools in the suburb reflect this, with many offering bilingual teaching.

At Pharaoh's Cafe, small red and green bells spray-painted on the windows offer greetings in English and Arabic for Christmas, New Year and Ramadan. Egyptian-born Omar Abdul-Hamid, 43, who moved to the area in 1985, has owned the cafe - which boasts belly dancers and hookah pipes - for four years. "When I got here, there weren't that many Arabs, not many businesses or stores," he said.

Arab-Americans say their population is larger than that reported by the census bureau, but many are reluctant to fill out government forms because they came from countries with oppressive regimes.